LACHEN UND WEINEN

 Yura Jang, Alejandro De Los Santos, and Enes Pektas

The title we chose for this review is not a reference to the Schubert lied of the same name. No indeed. It refers to the powerful range of emotions we experienced listening to an all-too-short recital by baritone Enes Pektas. We review vocal recitals several times a week and we usually find them enjoyable and make note of the things we like about a singer's technique

However, there are times that the technique is so flawless that it recedes into the background and this permits us to focus on artistry. We were initially surprised to learn that singers cannot have the luxury of experiencing the feelings; rather they must act as a conduit or medium, conveying the feelings of the composer and poet to the members of the audience. At this, Mr. Pektas is, at this early stage of his career, already an expert.

The recital program was well designed to show off Mr. Pektas' facility with lieder as well as opera. The opening, not mentioned on the program, was especially effective due to the surprise. With superb Italianate style and appropriate gestures, he inhabited the role of Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, delivering the "Largo al Factotum" with engaging personality.

The formal program began with an incredibly powerful performance of Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. This is in our top three favorite song cycles and woe betide the singer who doesn't capture all the phases of emotion in the text. Coming across as totally immersed in the suffering of lost love, it is difficult to believe how an artist can convey all that without bursting into tears.  

Well, Dear Reader, that is artistry. Our eyes filled with tears at the memory of lost love and we felt the burning knife in our very own breast! We were so lost in the emotion of the performance, that there was only one subtlety that stood out. On the word "leid", stretched out over a descending then ascending three-note scale passage, each syllable was delivered marcato, as if the poet (Mahler himself) were gasping for breath. We couldn't help thinking about how Alma made Gustav suffer. We hope Mr. Pektas never experiences such suffering. For us, a an audience member, it was cathartic.

There were three Russian songs on the program, two by Modest Mussorgsky, one of our favorite Russian composers. So successful was Mr. Pektas' performance that one didn't need to understand Russian. "Where are you, little star?" was filled with depth of feeling achieved by means of vocal coloration. "Song of the Flea", by contrast, was frisky and humorous. The third was a folk song that is filled with Russian passion, given its full measure by the artist.  The translation is "Dark Eyes"; we know it as "Oci Ciornie".  Unfortunately we don't have a Cyrillic keyboard so that is phonetic

As comfortable with opera as with lieder, Mr. Pektas gave us more of Figaro, in this case, the Act I duet "All'idea di quel metalllo" In which the rascal concocts a plan to help Count Almavivo (here played by the fine young tenor Louis Lee) to win the hand of Rosina. Mr. Pektas' eyes lit up greedily as he cajoled money from the Count. His facility with the rapid fire patter served him well.

Following, to close the program (all too soon), we had more bel canto singing. The third act duet from Donizetti's Don Pasquale between Dr. Malatesta (Mr. Pektas) and Don Pasquale (guest artist bass-baritone Alejandro de los Santos) was a fine way to end the program. "Cheti, cheti, immantinente" may not be the most famous baritone-bass baritone duet but it served to show off two fine singers who are also grand comic actors.

To the disappointment of the audience, the loudly demanded encore had not been prepared.  Indeed, Mr. Pektas seemed surprised that we wanted more of him. It was decided among the two singers and the excellent pianist Yura Jung to give us a recap of the Donizetti which seemed to satisfy everyone

It was a rare experience to feel so satisfied by a recital and yet to be wanting even more. We felt guilty like Figaro wanting more from the Count! This recital was given to satisfy the requirements for the degree of Master of Music from Mannes School of Music. How appropriate is that title!  Mr. Pektas is indeed a master of music with a fine career ahead of him. Here's a secret tip. Watch out for an upcoming performance of Puccini's Il Tabarro by Classic Lyric Arts Vocal Academy.

© meche kroop

MORENA GALÁN

 

Malena Galán (photo by meche kroop)

Graduation recitals are usually pretty exciting, especially if you have watched the graduating singer develop over a period of time. The singer develops the program and gets the stage with whomever she chooses to share with. It is an opportunity to show off what one has learned over the past four years and to exhibit as much variety as one chooses. 

At this concert given by mezzo-soprano Malena Galán, graduating from Manne School of Music, we heard accompaniment on the piano by Youngmo Na and Aleksandar Hadžieski, Helen Wyrick on the guitar, Elias Ludlam on flute, Carlos Pino on string bass, as well as by a string quartet comprising Salome Lamidze, Zoe Lo, Sofia Machuca, and Beatriz Sardón Martin, 

The recital was a most audience-pleasing survey of her multiple areas of artistry, covering not only art songs in English, German, French, Spanish, and what we think was Ladino-- but also some musical theater and tango. All were enjoyable.

There is one thing that differentiates Ms. Galán's stage presentation and that is a complete comfort with the audience, manifested by a welcoming and engaging manner. We felt as if she were a guest in our home introducing each song.

English may not be our favorite language for singing but Purcell's "Music for a While" was a great opener, showing an artist who isn't afraid of emoting. As a matter of fact, that quality was present in every selection, making each song into a mini-aria. That is the gift of "story-telling". The imagery comes alive in a most engaging fashion.

In the German section, "Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht" from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn, we felt like a child listening to a folk tale. In contrast, Schubert's "Ständchen" was filled with ardent mature longing.

In the French section we particularly enjoyed a most convincing "Maman, dîtes-moi" a cute ditty about a girl experiencing the pangs of first love.

Ou favorite in the Italian section was the familiar "Voi che sapete",  sung by the very hormonal Cherubino to the Countess in Mozart' Nozze di Figaro. We could just see the youth with all his diffident gestures and bravado.

The hit of the musical theater section was Jerome Kern's "All the Things You Are", thankfully sung with simplicity and sincerity. (We never cared for the jazzed up version). We liked the sad song of a disappointed lover from Manuel Valls' Canciones Sefarditas.

Unfortunately, we had to leave before the concluding songs from Argentina, Ms. Galán's homeland. It was not such a great loss because we have a persistent memory of our introduction to the artist at a concert at the Argentinian Consulate organized by fellow Argentinian Maestro Jorge Parodi in which we acquired a great appreciation for those songs.

Between then and last night we had the pleasure of seeing this young artist in a Mannes production of Cavalli's La Calisto. It will be interesting to see where she goes next. A mezzo-soprano with a smoky lower register and firmly supported tone could occupy the world of opera, cabaret, or musical theater.  We eagerly await further developments.

We can never end a review without a quibble and here it comes. The German needs work.  Like so many American singers, there is so much fear of mispronouncing the final consonants that they get left off to the point where the word makes no sense.  Let's get friendly, singers, with "ich" and "ig" and other endings!

© meche kroop

MANNES CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

I-Yun Tsai, Wenting Yu, Wen Guan Li, Zhihong Li, Jingci Liu, Pavlina Dokovska, and Ganson Salmon

Only in New York can one hear a highly professional concert and find out that the artists are students. The quality of the performances were uniformly splendid in last night's recital at the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Last month we reviewed the graduation recital of tenor Ganson Salmon, the highlight of which was his performance of Robert Schumann's Dichterliebe, composed during the period when Robert's longing for Clara was at its peak. Last night's repeat performance was in honor of Clara, who was not only her husband's muse, but, as related by Pavlina Dokovska, created her own musical career after rebelling against her strict family and the extant cultural norms.

For details about Mr. Salmon's artistry with this song cycle, we refer readers to our recent review, http://www.vocedimeche.reviews/search?q=ganson+salmon. We will only say that Mr. Salmon, Heinrich Heine, and Robert Schumann seem even more united than before as Mr. Salmon has settled into the work; he held us spellbound with his mastery. The connection between him and his superb collaborative pianist Brianna Han has intensified.

The program included selections from Kurze Waltzer for four hands by Wolfgang Rihm. The thrill of hearing contemporary music that we actually enjoyed was quite overwhelming. The music is charming, accessible, listenable, and even danceable. 

The four fortunate hands that brought us such joy belonged to Wenting Yu and the very beautiful Jingci Liu who were totally in tune with one another.

There was sufficient differences among the brief waltzes that our attention was held throughout. There was great variety of melodic intent, mood, tempi and dynamics.  Now if we could only get Mr. Rihm to write an opera! He has written dozens of lieder and we mean to track them down.

The final work on the program was Johannes Brahms' rousing Piano Quartet in C minor, op.60. It opened with a muscular Allegro non troppo which was followed by the Scherzo in a somewhat unusual position. The third movement, Andante, opened with a lyrical theme in the cello, played by Zhihong Li, making it our favorite part.  The Finale featured the violin of I-Yun Tsai and the piano of Wenting Yu. And we all know that the viola fills in all the gaps. Wen Guan Li played it well.

Mannes can be very proud of their students, all on their way to superstardom.

(c) meche kroop

IVAI at MANNES

IVAI Italian-Spanish Song Concert--Pianist/Coach Lucy Arner and Participants

The International Vocal Arts Institute has been helping young singers bridge the gap between studies and professionalism for thirty years, under the guidance of Founder /Artistic Director Joan Dornemann and Music Director Paul Nadler. We just caught up with them last year and was sufficiently impressed that we blocked out as much time as possible to attend their events this year.

IVAI holds these institutes in Asia, Latin America, and Canada. This year's institute drew 80 young singers from 16 countries.  It is only one week into the program in residence at Mannes School of Music at the New School. With nearly two weeks left, the young artists are already showing the signs of some excellent coaching, witnessed by the fact that they all had good command of both Italian and Spanish and some good legato technique.

The composition of the group of singers on tonight's program was varied from undergraduate level to singers who have been singing professionally. In the latter category was Banlingyu Ban, a highly gifted soprano from Shanghai who dazzled us recently in her performance as Cio-Cio San with Heartbeat Opera (review archived).

She performed the lovely Verdi song "In solitaria stanza" and we are pleased to report that her appealing stage presence lost nothing by moving from opera stage to recital stage. Her tone is lovely with a special quality in the upper register and she invested the song with convincing passion as the poet laments his very sick beloved Irene.

Her Spanish was equally memorable in a couple of songs from Manuel de Falla's Siete Canciones populares Espanolas. Our hands down favorite was "Asturiana" which she invested with appropriate melancholy.

Another fine singer who appears to be well on her way was mezzo-soprano Mariel Reyes from Veracruz, Mexico.  So many fine singers seem to be coming from Mexico lately! We enjoyed her performance of Rosa's aria of jealous fury from Jose Serrano's zarzuela Los Claveles--"Que te importa que no venga". Regular readers will recall how fond we are of zarzuela!

Ms. Reyes closed the program with a trio of songs by Fernando Obradors, each one exhibiting a diifferent mood and sung with different coloration--the frisky "Tres Morillas", the tenderly romantic "Del cabello mas sutil", and the intense and melodic "El Vito". Ms. Reyes truly knows how to get a song across and held our attention with her intensity.

Another singer who possesses this marvelous Latin American sazon is Colombian tenor David Rivera Bozon. The familiar "No puede ser" from Pablo Sorozabal's La Taberna del Puerto was given a highly affecting performance. He also performed a pair of songs by Alberto Ginastera of a rather mournful nature--"Triste" and "La concio del arbol del olvido". Mr. Bozon knows how to get inside a song and make it his own. We couldn't help observing that in the 20th c., when North American songs were being written with impoverished melody, South American composers knew exactly what their audience wanted to hear! And we want to hear it today in the 21st c.!

We particularly enjoyed the flirtatious duet performed by Mr. Bozon and soprano Eugenia Forteza --"Caballero del alto plumero" from Frederico Moreno Torroba's zarzuela Luisa Fernanda. Every time we hear a program of arias from zarzuelas, we wish someone would produce one in its entirety.

Ms. Forteza is from Argentina and selected a pair of songs composed by her countryman Carlos Guastavino. We particularly loved hearing "Bonita rama", the lovesong of a willow tree. We had another opportunity to hear her singing some of the Manuel de Falla songs.  Her performance of "Polo" was riveting in its expression of secret sorrow.

We have a couple observations to throw out for singers to consider.  One is that the use of a music stand is unacceptable. There were a couple singers whom we decline to name who committed that folly. The consequence is the break of connection with the audience. The performance becomes a private conversation between the singer and the score with the audience "eavesdropping". We have heard every excuse in the book for being on the book. We don't buy it.

The singers in question did sing other material without the use of a score and they were much more effective when not glancing down and turning pages.

Our second observation is that we got the sense that some of the singers were performing songs they didn't particularly care for or to which they didn't relate. The audience can tell, believe us! We will never forget the take home point we got from a master class given by James Levine with the wonderful mezzo Isabel Leonard participating. The point was "Sing what you love!"  Great advice from a great teacher.

The fine tenor Hyunho Cho seemed not terribly involved with Tosti's "Malia" but when he sang "Non t'amo piu" he was a different artist completely. He became expansive in his voice and his feelings. We believed in the poet's denial of love and admired the exquisite decrescendo at the end.  We also liked the way he sang Joaquin Turina's "Las locas por amor" with a true feeling of fun.

As far as songs to love or not love, our personal feelings were that we'd love to hear more of Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari but less of Ottorino Respighi, whose piano writing is lovely (and pianist/coach Lucy Arner surely made the most of it) but whose vocal lines just don't "sing" to us.

(c) meche kroop

JUST LIKE CHAMPAGNE

Kimberly Hann and Kristen Kemp

Vocal music is like champagne, you can have too much but you can never have enough.  This is what we thought whilst heading downtown for Kimberly Hann's graduation recital at Mannes just after attending a satisfying recital at the Morgan Library. Is this greed and gluttony? Was it time to show Mannes School of Music some love? Or was it the memory of Ms. Hann's outstanding performance with Cantanti Project as the warrior Orlando, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder to Handel's beautiful music.

Ms. Hann calls herself a Contralto/Mezzo. She has the low notes but, as you can see in our photo, she is far too beautiful to portray witches and sorceresses, and way to feminine for trouser roles. We will just have to wait and see!  Perhaps someday, someone will write an opera for her unique assets. 

The program lasted only an hour but revealed a well rounded artist who has worked hard to earn her Master of Music degree. She began with two arias by Handel which expressed a great deal of feeling. From Alcina, she sang "E gelosia, forza e d'amore"; in this Act I aria, Bradamante comes to the sorceress' island to find her lover besotted by Alcina.  She expresses her jealous rage in vocal fireworks from the top of her register to the bottom.  Quite an opener, and very well handled by the gifted Ms. Hann.

In the challenging "Cielo! Se tu il consenti" from Orlando (an aria we heard her sing before), the warrior's jealousy is not only murderous but suicidal. Ms. Hann conveyed all the madness of the character. Handel is perfect for her voice and she attacked the fioritura with as much artistry as enthusiasm.

A total change allowed the audience to relax from all that intense excitement. Four melodic songs by Brahms elicited different moods. "Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer" takes us right to death's door with a dying woman begging her lover to come quickly. The last song "Von ewiger Liebe" is a real charmer and clearly Ms. Hann understands what she is singing about. Although we heard a slight alteration of color from the man's trepidation to the woman's reassurance, we would like to hear just a little more variety.

Tchaikovsky's songs are always welcome even though we do not understand Russian.  This is OK as long as the singer understands and communicates. This was beautifully conveyed in "Reconciliation". We loved the phrase "And try not to remember in winter How you picked the roses in spring!"

"None but the lonely heart" is yet another setting of Goethe's text "Nur wer die sehnsucht kennt" which we would not have translated as lonely.  It comprises yearning, longing, and anxiety. We would like to offer a prize to a reader who can name all of the composers who set this wonderful text. Someday we would like to hear all the settings on the same program.

Especially lovely was Ms. Hann's performance of the first four songs of Hector Berlioz' Les nuits d'ete. These gave Ms. Hann the opportunity to express a variety of moods and colors from the lighthearted "Villanelle" to the "liebestod" experienced by the rose in "Le spectre de la rose". The darker color of "Sur les lagunes" matched the sorrow of death and the teasing good humor of "L'ile inconnue" involves a man who promises a woman abundant fantasy until she lets him know what she really wants--fidelity.

It was a most satisfying recital and presages a fine future for this lovely young artist. We were glad we went.

Collaborative pianist was Kristen Kemp.

(c) meche kroop

TOASTING TOSTI WITH DONATA D'ANNUNZIO LOMBARDI

Seok Jong Baek and Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi

This was a master class like no other. Italian soprano Donata D'Annunzio Lombardi spent three hours coaching nine young singers in a class devoted to songs by Francesco Paolo Tosti to commemorate the centennial year of his death. Each singer prepared a song (some familiar and some lesser known) and Ms. Lombardi proceeded to use her unique knowledge of anatomy to transform each singer.  Had you been there you would not scoff at this extravagant assertion.

She uses various stances and poses to bypass the throat tension that she observes in American singers (although she admits that American singers are far more expressive than their Italian counterparts). This made us wonder whether the English language itself produces this throat tension; we must ask Ms. Lombardi!

The wildest claim she made is that tenors come in two varieties--"the hitchhiker" and "the communist".  The former holds the fingers down with the thumb sticking out, like Carreras; the latter holds his hands in a fist like Pavarotti. She avers that the thumb is connected with the intellect and the index finger with the front of the body. She wants the singer to use the back of the body--the rear attachment of the diaphragm, the musculature of the spine, and the tentorium of the brain at the back of the skull.

To our great surprise, we noticed an amazing difference when the singer touched his thumb to the pinkie, which is connected to the back of the body!

She stressed the importance of flexibility and spring and had many of the students stand on a bent leg while flexing and extending the other leg.  This too made a difference!  So did leaning over to one side. The spine provides an anchor for the sound. 

The bent over posture mimics that of Early Man--a natural sound emerges in these positions.  And we always believed that singers must stand erect with shoulders down and back to open the chest.  Now we know there is a better but counter-intuitive way. Rounding the shoulders like Maria Callas opens the length of the spine. Breathing must come through the back! 

There were also various exercises to free up the vocal chords and spaces in the head. Students were instructed to hold their lips or bite down on one side, lest the orbicular muscles block the larynx.

So much of this advice goes against the way American singers have been taught but if you had been there, you would have heard the evidence with your own ears!

The singers comprised sopranos Angela Candela, Elizabeth Perez, and Vivian Yau (the latter two heard at the CLA Gala), tenors Ganson Salmon, Chul Young Kim, Michael St. Peter, and HyunHo Cho, and baritones Sunyeop Hwang and Seok Jong Baek. Each one made a major leap forward.

Glenn Morton (Founder of Classic Lyric Arts, teacher, and coach) was the accompanist for the class which was held at Mannes School of Music.

(c) meche kroop

CHANSON FROM MANNES--AND A SPECIAL TREAT

Faustine de Mones, Jiin Jung, Dorothy Gal, and Brianna Han

Last night at Mannes School of Music we heard An Evening of French Music, performed by Voice Major and Collaborative Piano Students. We are familiar with evenings coached by Christina Stanescu who directs the Collaborative Piano Department at Mannes. The performances are always topnotch. The recital began with a singing of "La Marseillaise"!

Soprano Faustine de Mones is a native speaker of French while soprano Dorothy Gal is not. A native speaker of French might have been able to tell the difference; we could not. We have been listening to Ms. Gal for some time since she has studied at Glenn Morton's French immersion program L'Art du Chant Francais. She just keeps getting better and better.

She sang Debussy's "Beau Soir" with fine diction and lovely phrasing; the warmth of her instrument lent a special flavor to the text. She continued with Duparc's "Chanson Triste" during which we noticed the fine arpeggios of collaborative pianist Brianna Han who has a light touch on the keys, just right for delicate French chansons.

Moving from chanson to aria, the pair performed "Allons, il le faut...Adieu, notre petite table" from Massenet's Manon, an aria filled with regret and misgivings.  No misgivings about the performance however!  Quite lovely, especially when Ms. Gal's singing became more expansive. Additionally, the aria offered her the opportunity to express the feelings by means of dynamic variation.

While Ms. Gal is a rather self-contained artist, Ms. de Mones is quite expressive. She opened with Trois poèmes de Louise de Vilmorin, set by Poulenc. The text is a bit more obscure but we enjoyed the suggestive conclusion of "Le garçon de Liège". Ms. de Mones also chose an aria from Manon--"Je suis encore tout étourdie" from Act I.  In this aria, Manon is still an innocent girl on her way to the convent and our singer succeeded in conveying the excitement of her first trip. This young lady has a lively personality and a winning onstage presence. Jiin Jung was her fine piano partner.

Tenor John Ramseyer (who left before the group photo) has a fine vibrato that lends an interesting texture to his voice. He kept up the long delicate line of Duparc's Phidylé right until the climax on "ton meilleur baiser"when he opened up his voice. We further enjoyed "Adieu, Mignon" from Ambroise Thomas' Mignon, an opera based on Goethe's Wilhelm Meister's Lehrjahre, which also inspired settings by Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, and Wolf. Mr. Ramseyer conveyed the sensitivity of a tender farewell.

And what was the special treat we alluded to in the title? The famous Thomas Grubb, educator, coach, collaborative pianist, and author of Singing in French: a Manual of French Diction and French Vocal Repertoire, performed L'histoire de Babar le petit elephant; he gave a dramatic reading of the text by Jean de Brunhoff, punctuated and enhanced by Poulenc's piano interludes. If we want to talk about impeccable French, this was it. His delivery was spellbinding.

We didn't always see the connection between the text and the music but definitely preferred the more lyrical interludes when Babar rode on his mother's back, when he was adopted by the old lady, when he remembered his mother, when he hosted his cousins, and when he bid farewell to the old lady. We also liked the dance music for his wedding and the peaceful music at the end when night fell.

Mr. Grubb's illustrious presence can be credited to the Art Song Preservation Society which is aptly named. Artists and audiences alike are well served by their activities.

(c) meche kroop